What happens in Vegas might stay in Vegas, but what happened in Phoenix earlier this month apparently hasn't been forgotten.

Gordon retaliated against Bowyer in the Sprint Cup's next-to-last race of the season, ending both of their days as well as Bowyer's already slim Chase championship hopes. Bowyer's crew confronted Gordon after the crash and the crews brawled a little bit.

Bowyer, who parked his car on pit road, sprinted to the garage looking for a piece of four-time Cup champion Gordon. NASCAR officials were stationed at Gordon's hauler and stopped an irate Bowyer from getting into a fight with Gordon.

The wound still stings Bowyer. Gordon said Thursday that during their two days in Las Vegas at appearances for Chase for the Sprint Cup competitors, Bowyer wouldn't even acknowledge him.

"It's been pretty awkward," Gordon said. "I thought he might have gotten over at least enough to look at me, but he won't even look at me.

"But you know what? This sport needs a rivalry."

Gordon, who was docked 25 points and fined $100,000 for the incident, doesn't think he will end up in a rivalry with Bowyer.

"It's so unlikely — Clint and I — he gets along with everybody," Gordon said. "I get along with him. Up until this point, I got along with him very well."

After the Phoenix incident Bowyer ripped Gordon, saying: "It's pretty embarrassing for a four-time champion and what I consider one of the best the sport has ever seen to act like that. (It's) just completely ridiculous."

Bowyer didn't want to talk about the incident Thursday, saying: "Good God. Is that my story I have to talk about? … It probably ain't going to get resolved this year. We're out of races."

Later in the day, at NASCAR's "After The Lap" event with the 12 Chase drivers — designed to be a light-hearted event as the drivers joke with each other — the big video screen in the Planet Hollywood arena showed an illustration of a heart taped together with a photo of Bowyer on one side and Gordon on the other as a "mended heart."